


Beat of a Metronome

by winter_scldier



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-10 00:44:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7823608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winter_scldier/pseuds/winter_scldier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tick, tick tick. The steady best of a metronome, a mans heart. No one is safe, not even the strongest of men.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Never Ending Suffering

Just when he thought it was over, that he was free, it was only just beginning. The mindless, the painful torture that he thought was over, he could never escape. And now they wanted him to hurt his best friend all over again.  
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It was a cold and dark room. A cool metal chain was wrapped around his wrist, and he couldn't move his other arm. Just as his eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness, he heard the sound of a heavy metal door. 

A silhouette of a soldier stood in the light coming from the hallway. He had a metal rod in his hand, and electricity sparked out of it. It was a painfully close replica of what had happened to him in the past. All the trouble he thought he'd gotten out of came back to haunt him. 

The soldier had fear in his voice, which meant he was afraid. He only had a weapon to defend himself, not to torture. At least not yet. He spoke somewhat quietly, but even without the fear of being abused at every second, he kept his head down. It pained him that he couldn't look the man in the eye. 

"James Barnes," the soldier started. "You've been brought to this facillity for your crimes against the country of the United States of America. Your charges include mass murder, terrorism, armed robbery, treason, and many others. Trying to flee the facility will result in execution." He left without another word.  
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He hated how he cowered before him. It showed how weak he truly was. He was at the mercy of his captors, and he couldn't live with that. There were multiple possibilities of him being tortured, beaten, and everything Hydra had ever done to him could repeat itself. 

He pulled against his chains, trying to find any bit of comfort in his cell. According to the law, they could do anything to him, only because he had done so much wrong. At any moment, they could do anything to him. 

He wondered if Steve knew what was going on, if he even knew where he was. He tried to tell himself that Steve was furious, that he was going to do everything in his power to get him out of this mess, but deep down he knew it wasn't going to happen. Steve wasn't coming, and he'd probably never see him again.


	2. Chapter 2

In his dark, small cell, all he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat. It seemed to echo against the concrete walls, and it was driving him insane. There was a small hatch in the door where they would hand in a small tray of food. It usually held a cold, tasteless mush and a warm glass of water. At first, he tried to avoid it. The mush would only make him more hungry if he ended up eating it. But the guards tortured him into eating. 

They would strike him with metal rods until he bled, or they would electrocute him until he cried out in agony. All while he refused to fight back. He didn't want to turn back into the man he used to be, the man who hurt everyone he touched. His captors feared him, and it broke him inside. He remembered memories from before the war. His parents never wanted him to fight, but he thought it was the right thing to do. Now he saw that he should've believed them.

He longed to hear another human voice besides his own. He longed to hold Steve in his arms again, despite knowing that he was too late. Sometimes he would hear his voice in his head, telling him that it would be alright, that he was coming to save him. But Bucky knew it wasn't true. He had been in that dark room for weeks, and if Steve was going to save him, he would've been there already.  
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His flesh wrist was rubbed raw from the shackle, and no matter how much he begged for help, for them to take it off, they ignored him. He found himself shouting into the darkness for hours, until he simply just couldn't shout anymore. The heavy iron door that separated him from freedom, never budged. He cried out for Steve over and over again until a guard would taser him through the small hatch in the door. He would fall onto the floor, trying to fight sobs from escaping his lips. 

He wasn't religious anymore, but every night he prayed for his forgiveness. He knew that he deserved to be sitting in that cell, he knew that he deserved every shock, and every beating he received, but he never asked for any of it. In his prayers he would talk about each person he every murdered. He would say their name, why it had to happen, and how sorry he was. He would always say how he wished he could tell the families how sorry he was, and how he never wanted anyone to get hurt. He had killed children before, and that is where he held the most regret. No child ever deserved to die, especially such as the ones they received. He knew those families would never forgive him.  
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A day came when another prisoner in the hallway was to be executed. He heard the inmate scream and struggle as the guards dragged him into the hall and tasered him, and it made him cry. He knew that it would be him one day. He would be the one they dragged down the hall in shackles, and he would deserve every second of the pain. Through a tiny crack in the door he saw the hallways florescent lights flicker, and he knew the prisoner was dead. Maybe he had a family, maybe he didn't. But somebody probably missed him. He hugged himself tightly. He knew that for more bad reasons than good, he wouldn't be forgotten in history. He would go down as one of Americas biggest terrorists.


	3. Familiar Voices

It had been a very long and dark day for him until he heard that voice. He heard the mechanical buzz of the maximum security door at the end of the hall, and two familliar voices. He listened as he heard the voice of one of the guards explaining to the person he was with how they ran things in the cell block. That's when the voice hit him like a mallet to a drum. 

It was Steve. 

His body froze, and he didn't know what to do. He knew if he called out to him, he would put both of them in danger. But he didn't know how long they would keep him in his prison. He didn't know if he would ever get out. So he quietly dragged himself as the chain would let him, and he listened. 

He missed Steve's voice more than he thought he would. A few tears fell from his eyes, and he began to wonder if Steve knew he was there. And if he did, why he had done nothing to get him out. Why Steve was just going to leave him there to die. He couldn't hold back his sobs, and suddenly the talking stopped. 

He shut his mouth as quickly as he could. 

"Who's in the cell?" 

He heard Steve ask. The guard didn't say anything. He had made a terrible mistake. The guard tried to play it off as another prisoner, but that didn't fool Steve. He asked the guard to open the door, and his heart skipped a beat. But when the guard explained that he couldn't, Steve didn't say anything. His heart sank as he heard a footsteps walking away, and the guard telling Steve about how they punished prisoners as he quickly followed after. 

He curled himself back against the wall in the back of the cell, and sobbed. His tears pooled beneath him on the concrete floor as he tried to keep himself quiet. As far as he could tell, he was the only prisoner left, and for that he was grateful. 

He knew Steve would probably never come back for him. He figured Steve thought he ran away again, or maybe he just needed some time alone. But he wanted to hug Steve, he wanted to scream for him to save him, he wanted Steve to miss him. He didn't want to be forgotten. He didn't bother lying on his small cot that night. He stayed there, crumpled up in a ball on a pool of his own tears, waiting for the nightmares to settle in.


	4. Heated by Fire, Cooled to Stone

"You truly are pathetic."

The words plunged into him like a dagger, and he looked to see the messenger. Steve's arms were crossed, and he shook his head as if he were disappointed. 

"Honestly, just look at you," he slammed the door and started pacing around the cell, a bright florecent light blinded him as he looked around in a panic. "You were a soldier. You helped us win the war! But now look at you. Crumpled up on the floor like the rat you always were."

He tried to protest. He pulled and pulled on the chain, to grab Steve and tell him that he never meant to hurt anyone. That none of this was his fault. But Steve didn't listen. He shot him with a taser, and he fell to the ground in agony. 

"Don't you get it Buck? You killed so many innocent people, and you say it's not your fault? You act like you had no control over any of your crimes, but we both know that's not quite true. You ruined lives James. People lost parents, children, brother, sisters, cousins. And it was all because of you." 

His words seemed to echo across the concrete walls and into his ears. He begged for Steve to stop, but he wouldn't. 

"You deserve to be in here. You deserve to die for what you've done. You're a murderer, you're a psychopath, you're a monster."

He fired the taser again, and he screamed in agony. The next thing he knew, he shot up from the floor, screaming and screaming and screaming. His whole body was drenched in sweat, his heart was pounding, and he was gasping for air. The cell was empty, the sting was gone, and he was all alone. 

The guard that showed Steve the cell block came and stood in the doorframe. He had out the electrified rod they always hit him with, and it was already sparking. 

"You idiot," he spat. "I never want to hear you make another word come out of your mouth unless I say so. Is that clear?" He shouted. 

He nodded his head quickly, but the guard hit him in the chest with the rod a few times before walking out and slamming the door. The hours dragged on and on, until the cycle started over again.


	5. The Empty Chamber

He had been through so much, but also so little. He was so young, but so old. So innocent, but so damaged. So surrounded, but so alone. And now his time was done. As they led him through a small, cold hallway, he wondered where his life went wrong. 

He wondered if defending that small kid from Brooklyn was really worth it. If he would've lived, and died a normal life after the war. He wondered if he could've avoided becoming the monster that everyone knew him to be, if he just let that small kid get beat up. He wondered what could've been if he was just another bystander. 

But that didn't matter now. They led him down the cell block, with his head held low. He was so ashamed of the choices he couldn't control. He felt so much guilt for all the lives he ruined, all the innocent souls he murdered. Every person he murdered had a family. He often thought about if they would ever find peace with him being dead. Or if they would ever forgive him for what he did to them. 

As they walked down the corridor, the guard leading the charge turned to face him. It was the same insults he always herd. He was called a monster, and that he would burn in hell. The words would echo in his mind for hours and hours, and he knew they were right. He just wished that he could've changed his ways sooner. 

They we're going to execute him by lethal gas. As he was led closer and closer to the chamber, he wondered if Steve knew what was going on. He wondered if any of the people that he thought ever cared about him were aware that he was there. He didn't want to think about it as they sat him down in the small wooden chair in the cold chamber. They retained him, and he didn't struggle. He sat there, trying to stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. 

The once empty chamber, now held the life and souls of James Buchanian Barnes and all of his victims within it. He closed his eyes as he heard the heavy metal door close, and the air tight seal lock him inside. The executioner, would become the executed. 

He was ready for death, but also so afraid. The tears kept falling and falling as he heard the pipes squeak and hiss, and the air felt so much heavier. He tried to scream, but all that escaped him were voiceless cries. He coughed and wheezed, and almost didn't hear the loud banging on the door. He opened his eyes and through his fading eyes to seem Steve, frantically banging on the door. He tried his best to smile at him, because there was nothing to be done. He saw the guards try to drag him away, screaming that the gas would kill him, but he didn't seem to care. 

Suddenly, the pipes stopped hissing. There wwee a few loud bangs, and everything went black. He felt the weight leave his body, but everythjng suddenly seemed to crash down. Slowly, everything faded back. He was on the ground next to Steve, who was coughing and wheezing as a pool of blood grew around him. The guards had there guns drawn, but they none seemed to move. The chamber door had been tore from its hinges, and gas was no longer being released. 

"Steve..." He said almost silently. But it was too late. One of the guards stirred, and pushed himself up from the floor. He limped over towards them, his gun still drawn. 

"Captain Rogers," he said, clutching his side with one hand and gun in the other. "It's been and honor serving you."

The sound rang throughout the room, and Steve stopped moving. The blood pooling around his torso seemed to slow, and another pool formed beneath his head. 

He lost all control. He threw himself at the guard, and despite being malnourished and starved, he still had more body mass than the guard. The two fell to the ground, and he got himself on top of the guard. He screamed and shouted Steve's name, but it was no use. Steve was dead, and he was about to be too. The guard had more strength, and he raised his gun. Another shot rang out, and suddenly warm blood dripped from the fresh hole in his torso. 

He fell to the ground without a word, and he looked over at the dead body of his best friend. In a fit of rage, he screamed his name again. He laid there, feeling he blood rush out of him. The guard just stood there, looking extremely scared. He was young, but he was responsible for the killing of Anericas Biggest Hero, and their worst enemy. He raised the gun in his shaking hand, and Bucky told him to do it. He begged him to pull the trigger, and end it all. And suddenly everything went dark and silent.


End file.
